2. Berdych. Emphasis on this being in the present. I'm sure this will be hotly contested, but I contend that Federer has a better chance of beating Djokovic/Murray at this point than he does Berdych.

3. Murray. Murray has a level that, if he plays to it, Federer can't match at this point.

4. Djokovic. Federer/Djokovic matches, even now, basically come down to a coin flip. If Federer comes out on fire, he can beat Djokovic anywhere but possibly at the AO. If Federer is lackluster, Djokovic will take him out.

5. Del Potro. I give him the edge over Tsonga as he's been tougher, more consistently. His backhand isn't something Federer can attack in the clutch moments, unlike with Tsonga.

6. Tsonga. Federer generally finds a way to handle him, but the serve and forehand power are still really dangerous to Federer.

7. Simon. They've only played 3 times, but this is not a guy Federer likes playing.

8. Benneteau. It's no longer just a fluke thing. He's beaten Federer twice and scared the crap out of him at Wimbledon.

2. Berdych. Emphasis on this being in the present. I'm sure this will be hotly contested, but I contend that Federer has a better chance of beating Djokovic/Murray at this point than he does Berdych.

3. Murray. Murray has a level that, if he plays to it, Federer can't match at this point.

4. Djokovic. Federer/Djokovic matches, even now, basically come down to a coin flip. If Federer comes out on fire, he can beat Djokovic anywhere but possibly at the AO. If Federer is lackluster, Djokovic will take him out.

5. Del Potro. I give him the edge over Tsonga as he's been tougher, more consistently. His backhand isn't something Federer can attack in the clutch moments, unlike with Tsonga.

6. Tsonga. Federer generally finds a way to handle him, but the serve and forehand power are still really dangerous to Federer.

7. Simon. They've only played 3 times, but this is not a guy Federer likes playing.

8. Benneteau. It's no longer just a fluke thing. He's beaten Federer twice and scared the crap out of him at Wimbledon.

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Agree with this list except point 3

Murray only beat Federer over 5 sets at the AO. Federer at 31 recovery time isn't as good as it used to be. Having played 5 sets the previous round...he was a bit jaded. Haven't seen any evidence about this Murray level you refer to. Olympics was a bit of the same thing....though Federer genuinely was having an off day that day (not to take away anything from Andy's great play that day). Concerning point 1 I think it is a shame that the range of surfaces/conditions they played on wasn't more evenly spread especially during Federer's prime (many more indoor clashes would have evened out the clay). I think we would have a completely different result then. I do agree though that Nadal is a very tough brick for Federer to knock over.

My reasoning for djokovic ahead of murray on the list is that as of late, federer has been doing much better against murray than djokovic. The only exception was the australian open when he was probably tired. He was definitely tired at the olympics. not to make excuses since Murray definitely played fantastically both matches, but federer has had more trouble with djokovic as of late.

Murray only beat Federer over 5 sets at the AO. Federer at 31 recovery time isn't as good as it used to be. Having played 5 sets the previous round...he was a bit jaded. Haven't seen any evidence about this Murray level you refer to. Olympics was a bit of the same thing....though Federer genuinely was having an off day that day (not to take away anything from Andy's great play that day). Concerning point 1 I think it is a shame that the range of surfaces/conditions they played on wasn't more evenly spread especially during Federer's prime (many more indoor clashes would have evened out the clay). I think we would have a completely different result then. I do agree though that Nadal is a very tough brick for Federer to knock over.

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I've seen the level that the OP is referring to - 1st half of 1st set at WTF last year and in parts of the AO semi. Comes out firing and bossing Fed; makes Federer look like twilight Agassi when he played prime Fed. But I think this is somewhat a surprise tactic and requires a level of agression and risk that Murray is not really comfortable with, thus his failure to keep it up for more than a set. That said, he's clearly more dangerous to Fed now than he ever has been, and he's always given Fed trouble. That he finally beat him in a slam, albeit while in a better-rested condition than Fed, could spell trouble down the road. But if Federer plays his best I don't think Murray has a level that can match that, even today. But he does have a level to stick with him, and over five sets that may be enough.

I do agree with the placing, though - Murray is a worse matchup than Djokovic for Federer, but Djokovic is the better player, so I'd put my money on Djoker over Fed before I'd put anything on Murray over Fed.

My reasoning for djokovic ahead of murray on the list is that as of late, federer has been doing much better against murray than djokovic. The only exception was the australian open when he was probably tired. He was definitely tired at the olympics. not to make excuses since Murray definitely played fantastically both matches, but federer has had more trouble with djokovic as of late.

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True, he's 2-1 against him in their last three matches (including a bagel), while he's 1-2 against Murray. That clearly indicates he's had more trouble against Djokovic lately.

LOL at you saying Djokovic and Murray are tougher match-ups for Federer than Nadal is. Nadal is Federer's toughest match-up by far, the other three are way below Nadal for sure.

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It depends on what surface. On clay and grass, no contest: Nadal. On hard court, it's not so clear. Djoko and Fed have played 22 times, twice as many times as Nadal and Fed: 11. Fed leads both head to head: 12-10 vs Djoko and 6-5 vs Nadal but Djoko has won 5 of their last 6 encounters on hard (vs 3-3 for Fed/Nadal), Djoko has beaten Fed at WTF (Rafa hasn't) and Djoko beat Fed 4 times in slams on hard (twice in straight sets, Rafa has beaten him twice, never in straights).
As for Murray, he's the only (top) player who LEADS Fed on hard court: 10-8

Murray only beat Federer over 5 sets at the AO. Federer at 31 recovery time isn't as good as it used to be. Having played 5 sets the previous round...he was a bit jaded. Haven't seen any evidence about this Murray level you refer to. Olympics was a bit of the same thing....though Federer genuinely was having an off day that day (not to take away anything from Andy's great play that day). Concerning point 1 I think it is a shame that the range of surfaces/conditions they played on wasn't more evenly spread especially during Federer's prime (many more indoor clashes would have evened out the clay). I think we would have a completely different result then. I do agree though that Nadal is a very tough brick for Federer to knock over.

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What utter drivel. Have a glance at the head to head record and stop making terrible excuses why Murray pumped Federer at the Olympics, and then the Australian Open. How the match in Melbourne went 5 I will never know, it was a routine victory for Murray in every aspect of the game. He smashed him - like he has been doing regularly since he was a teenager.

2. Murray - He has found the formulae to beat fed now on all surfaces. The last two meetings were straight easy beat downs. They weren't even really that close. You never felt federer could come back and federer just felt over powered and was shanking forehands and backhands.

3. Berdych - Berdych is the poorman's kryptonite. He can beat fed, but really not anyone else in the top 4.

2. Murray - He has found the formulae to beat fed now on all surfaces. The last two meetings were straight easy beat downs. They weren't even really that close. You never felt federer could come back and federer just felt over powered and was shanking forehands and backhands.

3. Berdych - Berdych is the poorman's kryptonite. He can beat fed, but really not anyone else in the top 4.

4. Djokovic

5. Benneteau

6. Tsonga

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What are you talking about?

They are tied at 1-1 in their last two meetings, it was Federer who gave Murray a straight sets beatdown in the first of their last two meetings:

Remember that match-up is not about the absolute level but about how a player Y strength and weakness interact with player X strength and weakness.

Djokovic is the best player right now, so, even in the case of a bad match-up he can still win. I think Djokovic is more vulnerable to Fed than Nadal or Murray on HC, even if Federer might be a lesser player than them now.

Murray gave Fed a lot of trouble since day 2007, which prove the match-up issue for Fed. The slams finals are specials. It's the match-up in murray's head who made them so one sided.

Simon and Benneteau are by far the less talented player on this list, but somehow they give Fed a lot of trouble. I think they should be ranked higher than the big hitters, except Berdych.

Remember that match-up is not about the absolute level but about how a player Y strength and weakness interact with player X strength and weakness.

Djokovic is the best player right now, so, even in the case of a bad match-up he can still win. I think Djokovic is more vulnerable to Fed than Nadal or Murray on HC, even if Federer might be a lesser player than them now.

Murray gave Fed a lot of trouble since day 2007, which prove the match-up issue for Fed. The slams finals are specials. It's the match-up in murray's head who made them so one sided.

Simon and Benneteau are by far the less talented player on this list, but somehow they give Fed a lot of trouble. I think they should be ranked higher than the big hitters, except Berdych.

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"but somehow they give Fed a lot of trouble"
When playing well and confident, Simon's retrieving skills + movement + ability to play a more unpredictable game (sudden ability to change the pace of the ball on both wings- Federer insisted on that last point in his press conference after their encounter in AO 2011 for that matter) gave Fed a lot of trouble in the past.

2. Berdych. Emphasis on this being in the present. I'm sure this will be hotly contested, but I contend that Federer has a better chance of beating Djokovic/Murray at this point than he does Berdych.

3. Murray. Murray has a level that, if he plays to it, Federer can't match at this point.

4. Djokovic. Federer/Djokovic matches, even now, basically come down to a coin flip. If Federer comes out on fire, he can beat Djokovic anywhere but possibly at the AO. If Federer is lackluster, Djokovic will take him out.

5. Del Potro. I give him the edge over Tsonga as he's been tougher, more consistently. His backhand isn't something Federer can attack in the clutch moments, unlike with Tsonga.

6. Tsonga. Federer generally finds a way to handle him, but the serve and forehand power are still really dangerous to Federer.

7. Simon. They've only played 3 times, but this is not a guy Federer likes playing.

8. Benneteau. It's no longer just a fluke thing. He's beaten Federer twice and scared the crap out of him at Wimbledon.

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I think alot of the match up issues are really about Federer wearing out in tournaments. He is old and breaks down. He basically is vulnerable to anyone late in a tournament but usually only runs into these particular players late in tournaments. The evidence is his record in the Masters where he meets these guys early.

To be honest, a lot of these guys have become more mentally committed in their matches against Fed (except Rafa who always knew his game troubles Rog). In previous matches, they would basically go away when Fed gets on a roll - this doesn't happen anymore. This was clear to me in the Dubai semi- Berdy won because he refused to blink.

I do believe that Fed has to realise this - there so only so much 'tweaking' he can do to his game. It's quite possible that the killer instinct is not there anymore, just a natural part of the aging process.

2. Djokovic- He began beating Federer about half the times they played in mid 2007-2008 when Federer was much closer to his own prime than Djokovic to his. Always a tough opponent as he has the combination of great offense and defense that is hard for Federer to face.

3. Nalbandian- Even today has close to a .500 record vs Federer career wise. Won their first 5 matches and was still beating and pushing prime Federer in 2006 and 2007 (and late 2003).

4. Murray- Has done well vs Federer in best of 3 for years but his lack of best of 5 sucess until recently, with Federer now well past his prime and Murray probably entering his peak years, makes it impossible for me to rank him higher.

5. Agassi- Maybe should rank higher. Given that he pushed Federer so hard in most matches on hard courts in his mid 30s, safe to say prime Agassi would give Federer a very tough time and score some wins.

Yes Murray who didnt finally get his first slam win over Federer until Federer was 32 (and it still took 5 sets) is a tougher matchup for him than Nadal who won 6 of their first 7 matches aged 17-19 over peak Federer, and is 8-2 overall vs him in slams. Obviously you are trying to up your stupidity as TMF doesnt have enough competition for dumbest Planet TW poster at the moment. You still have a ways to go but you are getting closer by the day.

It depends on what surface. On clay and grass, no contest: Nadal. On hard court, it's not so clear. Djoko and Fed have played 22 times, twice as many times as Nadal and Fed: 11. Fed leads both head to head: 12-10 vs Djoko and 6-5 vs Nadal but Djoko has won 5 of their last 6 encounters on hard (vs 3-3 for Fed/Nadal), Djoko has beaten Fed at WTF (Rafa hasn't) and Djoko beat Fed 4 times in slams on hard (twice in straight sets, Rafa has beaten him twice, never in straights).
As for Murray, he's the only (top) player who LEADS Fed on hard court: 10-8

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I agree with your assesment. However hard court is definitely only between Djokovic and Nadal, and I would probably give it to Djokovic slightly although that is a tough one. Murray got slapped down easily by Federer in too many big hard court matches for years to even be compared to the other two as to who is the toughest hard court matchup for Federer, regardless the overall H2H.